And the Earth Moved by Timothy Huang at the New York Musical Theatre Festival

And the Earth Moved by Timothy Huang at the New York Musical Theatre Festival

Posted by Lia Chang

Timothy Huang's And the Earth Moved is featured in the New York Musical Theatre Festival through Sept. 29th at the 45th Street Theatre.

On September 21, 1999, an earthquake devastated the island of Taiwan, killing thousands. For Timothy Huang, an actor, composer, lyrist and songwriter based in New York, the 24 hours following the earthquake were spent in agonizing limbo not knowing whether his parents were alive or dead. His new musical, And The Earth Moved is loosely based on his experiences during this time in his life.

Huang shares his journey of self discovery about country, culture and the Asian American experience in And The Earth Moved for which he wrote the book, the music and the lyrics.

Currently in production as part of The New York Musical Theatre Festival's Next Link at the 45th Street Theatre in New York through Sept. 29th, Huang's musical was a finalist for the 2004 National Music Theater Network's New Voices Prize and for Arielle Tepper's Summer Play Festival.

And The Earth Moved takes place in Manhattan on the night the earthquake struck Taiwan in Sept 1999. Will Chen is faced with the possibilty that his parents have not survived the earthquake in Taiwan. Stepping out of his apartment in New York, he encounters an alternate landscape where he must first discover what his home really is before figuring out how to get back to it. Between a clairvoyant 18 year old truant named Jenny, an eccentric cross-dressing restaurant owner with a penchant for Chinese Opera and The First Chinese Pentecostal Church of Harlem Gospel Choir, everyone Will comes into contact with has something to teach him.